KR20080100545A

KR20080100545A - Microwave oven

Info

Publication number: KR20080100545A
Application number: KR1020070046374A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 박유수
Original assignee: 주식회사 대우일렉트로닉스
Priority date: 2007-05-14
Filing date: 2007-05-14
Publication date: 2008-11-19

Abstract

An invention for a microwave oven is disclosed. The disclosed invention includes: a cavity in which exhaust and inlet holes are formed at one side; And a hot air circulation unit for selectively discharging the hot air discharged to the outside of the cavity through the exhaust hole to the outside, or introducing the hot air into the cavity.

According to the present invention, as the hot air circulation unit located at the upper side of the cavity is operated, as the hot air circulates through the cooking chamber from the side of the cooking chamber, the temperature distribution inside the cavity can be maintained uniformly, so that the food is uniform throughout. Can be heated. In addition, the hot air discharged to the outside through the exhaust hole is also introduced into the cooking chamber through the inlet hole again by the operation of the hot air circulation unit, the external outflow of the hot air is blocked to increase the thermal efficiency, in particular, moisture When cooking the necessary food can prevent the leakage of water, it is possible to effectively cook these foods without additional equipment for preventing the leakage of water.

Description

Microwave {MICROWAVE OVEN}

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional microwave oven.

2 is a perspective view of a microwave oven according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the microwave oven shown in FIG. 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the operation of the hot air circulation unit shown in FIG.

5A and 5B are front and cross sectional views schematically illustrating a hot air circulation state in a cooking chamber according to the operation of the hot air circulation unit illustrated in FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: microwave oven 110: cavity

111: cooking chamber 112: exhaust hole

113: inlet hole 120: hot air circulation unit

121: duct 122: blowing fan

123: drive unit 130: heater

The present invention relates to a microwave oven, and more particularly, to a multifunctional microwave oven having a convection function.

A microwave oven is basically a device for heating a heating object using a microwave. In this microwave oven, there is a single function microwave that cooks food using a microwave of 2450 MHz, which is only emitted from a magnetron, and a grill having a function of grill by having a heater above or below the cooking chamber in addition to the microwave. In addition to a microwave oven and a microwave, there is a multifunctional microwave oven such as a convection type microwave oven having a heater and a convection fan at the rear of the cooking chamber to convection hot air.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional multifunctional microwave oven.

Referring to FIG. 1, a heater chamber 2 is provided on the rear side of the cavity 1, and a heater 3 is provided inside the heater chamber 2. The fan 4 is provided in the center part of the heater chamber 2, and the fan 4 is rotated by the motor 5 provided in the rear side. The suction part 6 and the supply part 7 for circulating air by the fan 4 are provided in the rear surface of the cavity 1 corresponding to the bottom face of the heater chamber 2.

The suction part 6 for inhaling air in the cavity 1 is provided in the center part of the fan 4, and the air sucked through the suction part 6 in the part corresponding to the edge of the fan 4 is provided. The supply part 7 for supplying to the inside of the cavity 2 is formed again. In addition, an exhaust portion 8 is formed at the upper side of the cavity 1, and the exhaust portion 8, the suction portion 6, and the supply portion 7 are formed of a plurality of vent holes.

In the conventional microwave oven, when the heating is to be performed by using the heater 3, the fan 4 is operated while power is applied to the heater. As the fan 4 is driven, the air flowing from the cavity 1 through the suction part 6 is supplied back to the cavity 1 through the supply part 7, whereby the heater ( The hot air generated by 3) is supplied to the inside of the cavity 1, and when cooking is completed, the hot air inside the cavity 1 is discharged to the outside through the exhaust part 8.

However, according to the conventional microwave oven having such a configuration, there are the following problems.

First, when the hot air convections, the hot air circulating in the heater chamber 2 and the cavity 1 enters and exits through the suction part 6 of the central part and the supply part 7 of the outer circumference thereof. The whole of (1) cannot be circulated completely. That is, although the central portion of the cavity 1, which is a portion adjacent to the fan 4, is generally smooth in the flow of heat, a phenomenon occurs that the flow of hot air is not smooth in the side, particularly the corner portion of the cavity (1). Accordingly, the inside of the cavity 1 does not have a uniform temperature distribution as a whole, a problem arises that the food is not evenly heated as a whole.

In addition, in the conventional microwave oven, while hot air is circulated inside the cavity 1, a part of the hot air is discharged through the exhaust part 8 formed on the upper side of the cavity 1, whereby a heat loss occurs and the heating is performed. There is a problem that the efficiency is reduced.

In addition, the conventional microwave oven uses a motor 5 having a large power capable of rotating the fan 4 at a high speed in order to circulate the hot air smoothly, so that the volume of the motor 5 is increased. As a result, a problem arises in that the size of the microwave oven is large.

Therefore, there is a need for improvement.

The present invention was devised to improve the problems of the prior art as described above. The temperature distribution inside the cavity is maintained uniformly so that the food can be heated evenly throughout, while minimizing heat loss. It is an object of the present invention to provide a microwave oven having an improved structure to be miniaturized.

Microwave according to the present invention comprises: a cavity in which the exhaust hole and the inlet hole is formed; And a hot air circulation unit configured to selectively discharge hot air discharged to the outside of the cavity through the exhaust hole to the outside, or to flow into the cavity.

In addition, the exhaust hole and the inlet hole is preferably formed on the upper side of the cavity.

The hot air circulation unit may further include: a duct mounted on the cavity to surround the exhaust hole and the inlet hole; A blowing fan provided inside the duct to blow hot air discharged through the exhaust hole to the inlet hole; And a driving unit for driving the blowing fan.

In addition, the duct, it is preferable that the width of one side adjacent to the inlet hole is formed smaller than the width of the other side adjacent to the exhaust hole.

In addition, it is preferable that a discharge hole is formed in the duct.

In addition, the drive unit preferably includes a tray motor.

In addition, it is preferable that the heater is mounted in at least one position of an inner upper surface or an inner lower surface of the cavity.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of a microwave oven according to the present invention. For convenience of explanation, the convection microwave oven will be described as an example. In this process, the thickness of the lines or the size of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description. In addition, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or convention of a user or an operator. Therefore, the definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a microwave oven according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the microwave oven shown in Figure 2, Figure 4 shows the operation of the hot air circulation unit shown in Figure 2 Perspective view.

First, referring to FIG. 2, the microwave oven 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cavity 110 and a hot air circulation unit 120.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cavity 110 has a cooking chamber 111 formed therein, and the inside of the cooking chamber 111 and the outside of the cavity 110 are formed at one side thereof, preferably at an upper side thereof. An exhaust hole 112 and an inlet hole 113 communicating with each other are formed.

In the present embodiment, the exhaust hole 112 is formed on the upper side of the cavity 110, so that hot air in the cooking chamber 111 rising due to the high temperature can be more easily exhausted toward the exhaust hole 112. Since it is intended to guide so as to be suitable for exhaust of hot air, the exhaust hole 112 may be formed at any position of the cavity 110 as well as the upper side.

In addition, the inflow hole 113 is formed adjacent to the exhaust hole 112 at an appropriate interval in consideration of the size and blowing performance of the hot air circulation unit 120 to be described later, formed on the other side of the exhaust hole 112 It may be, but also considering the size and blowing performance of the hot air circulation unit 120 to be described later, it is preferable to be formed on the same side to be as close to the exhaust hole 112 as possible. In the present embodiment, the inlet hole 113 is illustrated as being parallel to the exhaust hole 112 horizontally, but is not limited thereto, and may be arranged in various forms.

The hot air circulation unit 120 is disposed on one side of the cavity 110 in which the exhaust hole 112 and the inlet hole 113 are formed, that is, the upper side of the cavity 110. The hot air circulation unit 120, by selectively discharging the hot air discharged to the outside of the cavity 110 from the inside of the cooking chamber 111 through the exhaust hole 112 to the outside, or introduced into the cavity 110, It includes a duct 121, a blowing fan 122 and the drive unit 123.

First, the duct 121 is mounted on the upper side of the cavity 110 so as to surround the exhaust hole 112 and the inlet hole 113, and the exhaust hole 112 and the inlet hole 113 are completely blocked from the outside. Surrounding the exhaust hole 112 and the inlet hole 113 as possible. The duct 121 is preferably formed such that the width of one side adjacent to the inflow hole 113 is smaller than the width of the other side adjacent to the exhaust hole 112 so that the hot air introduced into the duct 121 enters the inflow hole. It is possible to increase the speed flowing into the (113).

In addition, the duct 121, the discharge hole 121a may be formed in a portion thereof, which is not necessary to circulate the hot air, so that the hot air circulation unit 120 does not operate, that is, a blower fan (to be described later) This is to allow the hot air discharged from the exhaust hole 112 to be discharged to the outside when the 122 is not operated.

Next, the blowing fan 122 blows hot air discharged through the exhaust hole 112 to the inflow hole 113, and is provided in the duct 121. The blowing fan 122 is driven by the driving unit 123, the driving unit 123, preferably, may be mounted on the outside of the duct 121, and coupled to the blowing fan 122, the blowing fan 122 By driving), the hot air discharged through the exhaust hole 112 is blown by the blowing fan 122 toward the inlet hole 113 to be introduced into the cooking chamber 111.

The driving unit 123 may preferably include a tray motor having a small driving force. This is because the hot air circulation process in the microwave oven 100 of the present invention to introduce the hot air into the cooking chamber 111, as well as the forced air by the blower fan 123, the hot air discharged through the exhaust hole 112 Since the path is guided by the duct 121 and includes the natural convection introduced into the cooking chamber 111 through the inlet hole 113, a large driving force such as a driving motor for driving a conventional multifunctional microwave oven is required. It is possible because there is not.

Accordingly, the driving unit 123 according to the present embodiment has a merit that the size of the driving unit 123 can be sufficiently small compared with the driving motor of the conventional multifunctional microwave oven without deteriorating the hot air circulation performance, thereby miniaturizing the size of the entire microwave oven. Will have

Hereinafter, the hot air circulation state in the cooking chamber according to the operation of the hot air circulation unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.

5A and 5B, in the microwave oven 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the heater 130 is mounted at at least one position of an upper surface or a lower surface of the cavity 110. Although the heater 130 is mounted on both the upper and lower surfaces of the cavity 110, the present invention is not limited thereto.

According to the microwave oven 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in the state in which the entire heater 130 and the hot air circulation unit 120 is operated, the heater 130 located on the inner upper surface of the cavity 110 and Hot air generated from the heater 130 located on the inner lower surface of the cavity 110 flows up and down, and as the hot air circulation unit 120 located on the upper side of the cavity 110 operates, the hot air flows toward the side of the cooking chamber 111. The whole cooking chamber 111 is circulated from this. Accordingly, since the temperature distribution in the cavity 110 can be maintained uniformly, it is possible to uniformly heat the food as a whole.

In addition, the hot air discharged to the outside through the exhaust hole 112 is also introduced into the cooking chamber 111 again through the inlet hole 113 by the operation of the hot air circulation unit 120, the external outflow of the hot air is blocked The thermal efficiency is increased, and in particular, when cooking a food requiring moisture, it is possible to prevent the leakage of water, and thus it is possible to effectively cook the food without an additional device for preventing water leakage.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, by increasing the thermal efficiency as described above, it is possible to reduce the operating time of the heater 130, so that not only the effect of power saving, but also to reduce a portion of the external temperature rise of the cavity 110 and the like. To be effective.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art to which the art belongs can make various modifications and other equivalent embodiments therefrom. Will understand. In addition, the multi-function microwave oven has been described as an example, but this is merely illustrative, and the present invention may be applied to other microwave ovens other than the multi-function microwave oven. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the claims below.

As described above, according to the microwave oven according to the present invention, unlike the conventional invention provides the following effects.

First, as the hot air circulation unit located on the upper side of the cavity operates, as the hot air circulates through the cooking chamber from the side of the cooking chamber, the temperature distribution inside the cavity can be maintained uniformly, thereby heating the food uniformly throughout. Can be.

Second, the hot air discharged to the outside through the exhaust hole is also introduced into the cooking chamber through the inlet hole again by the operation of the hot air circulation unit, the external outflow of the hot air is blocked to increase the thermal efficiency, in particular, moisture When cooking the necessary food can prevent the leakage of water, it is possible to effectively cook these foods without additional equipment for preventing the leakage of water.

Third, the size of the microwave oven can be made small enough to reduce the size of the entire microwave oven without reducing the hot air circulation performance.

Fourth, by increasing the thermal efficiency as described above, it is possible to reduce the operating time of the heater, thereby providing the effect of saving power, as well as to reduce the rise of the external temperature, such as the cavity to some extent.

Claims

A cavity in which an exhaust hole and an inlet hole are formed at one side; And

And a hot air circulation unit configured to selectively discharge hot air discharged to the outside of the cavity through the exhaust hole to the outside, or to introduce the hot air into the cavity.

The method of claim 1,

The exhaust hole and the inlet hole, the microwave oven, characterized in that formed on the upper side of the cavity.

According to claim 1, wherein the hot air circulation unit,

A duct mounted on the cavity to surround the exhaust and inlet holes;

A blowing fan provided inside the duct to blow hot air discharged through the exhaust hole to the inlet hole; And

Microwave oven comprising a drive unit for driving the blowing fan.

The method of claim 3, wherein

The duct is microwave oven, characterized in that the width of one side adjacent to the inlet hole is formed smaller than the width of the other side adjacent to the exhaust hole.

The method of claim 3, wherein

Microwave oven, characterized in that the discharge hole is formed in the duct.

The method of claim 3, wherein

The driving unit, the microwave oven, characterized in that it comprises a tray motor.

The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

The cavity, the microwave oven, characterized in that the heater is mounted at at least one position of the inner upper surface or the inner lower surface.